British soldier killed in explosion while protecting comrades in Afghanistan

The death of the man - from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment - near the Waterloo military base in Sangin takes the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 282.

The victim's next of kin have been informed but his name has not been released.

Casualty: British troops providing force protection to the Combat Logistic Patrol through the streets of Sangin, where the soldier was killed

Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith said: ‘It is with deep sadness I must inform you that a soldier from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, part of 40 Commando Battle Group, was killed in Sangin this morning.

‘He was providing protection to his fellow soldiers who were returning from a patrol when tragically he was killed in an explosion.